Community News in Brief: Tuesday, June 3

Community news in the North East

The National Trust team working to maintain Britain's tallest Scots Pine - one of a vast number of significant trees at Cragside in Northumberland . The 140-year-old Scots pine in grounds has been officially announced as Britain's tallest

Cragside hits the heights with a record-breaking tree

A tree in the grounds of Cragside in Northumberland has been officially declared the tallest Scots pine in the UK - at a whopping 40 metres high.

National Trust staff called in specialists to scale and measure the 140-year-old tree after admiring comments from visitors and it has now been registered, to the delight of Cragside’s tree and woodland manager Chris Clues.

He said: “We’re absolutely thrilled, if a little surprised, to have the UK’s tallest Scots pine.

“You might imagine that Scotland would lay claim to that record.”

The species is more commonly grown as a commercial crop and felled at around 50 years of age but the estate’s examples have remained untouched.

Chris now hopes a 60m Douglas fir in the grounds might also prove a record-breaker.

Free family festival on offer

People are being invited to a free festival being staged at intu Eldon Square this weekend.

Organisers are offering music and dance, food and drink, family fun, and entertainment as well as the chance to win some spot prizes and competitions.

Give-aways include chances to win intu Eldon Square Gift Cards, a VIP night to see Robbie Williams, and the opportunity to win a year’s free Metro Travel.

On Saturday, the stage area in St Andrew’s Way will host a visit from two VIP stars from Disney On Ice, ahead of the ice spectacular’s arrival at the Metro Radio Arena in October. On Sunday, a host of regional musicians and entertainers will entertain the crowds.

Folk stars The Unthanks help with community choir performance

Community choirs in Northumberland have been receiving tips from folk stars The Unthanks ahead of a special performance at the 150th Miners’ Picnic.

Members of Wansbeck Voices and 2000 Voices have been working over the spring with Becky Unthank and Niopha Keegan from the award-winning band whose second album The Bairns was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Rehearsals for Bait Big Sing! which is set to be a highlight of the June 14 picnic, have seen The Unthanks help the singers with their technique and to learn new songs.

The resulting performance will feature traditional music and folk songs from the region, some of them rare, and will be free to enjoy at the picnic which will take place at Woodhorn in Ashington from 10am to 5pm on June 14.

Graham Coatman, director of 2000 Voices, which was set up to get the North East singing, said: “The result should be magic.”

Gateshead hopes to recruit more voluteers with its month-long series of events

Gateshead's second Volunteers’ Month is under way with more than 50 events taking place throughout June in the hope of signing up invaluable new helpers.

It follows the success of last year’s event which first extended the usual volunteers’ week to a month and saw 10,000 residents take part and 387 new volunteers recruited.

Co-ordinated by Gateshead Council and Gateshead Voluntary Organisations Council, this year’s programme ranges from drop-in information sessions to practical tasters of what’s involved, including one from 10.30am to 2.30pm today at Gateshead Advice Centre which is hoping to recruit 75 Double Diamond “Volunt-heros” to mark its 75th anniversary. Others take place there on June 11, 20 and 25.

Among other events this week are taster sessions this Wednesday at Chopwell Woods on conservation; and Queen Elizabeth Hospital involving knitting; as well as ones on a Rag Rug Revival and Changing Lives outreach work.

Osprey Watch opens at Kielder

Volunteers will help visitors use telescopes trained on an osprey nest in Kielder Forest.

Situated behind the Boat Inn restaurant at Leaplish, the Osprey Watch will run every weekend from 11am to 4.30pm until August.

Newcastle sandwich shop is country's best

A sandwich shop in Newcastle has been judged one of the best in the country.

Dene’s Deli in Jesmond scooped a Gold Award in this year’s Sammies, the awards hosted by the British Sandwich Association.

Owner Gill Reeve said “I am delighted to have won this gold award which is a credit to my dedicated team. It is particularly pleasing to have received this accolade in the year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dene’s Deli. We are proud of our longevity and ongoing innovation – never a day goes by without a new idea!”

Judges visited sandwich shops around the country and presented awards based on the quality of sandwiches but also innovation, customer service and ambiance.

He said: “Gentoo Construction models itself on high standards and I’m delighted these two sites have received this recognition.

“It’s thanks to the dedication of our staff that Gentoo Construction is able to accept such high standards as normal practice.”

Museum wants volunteers

The RNLI is looking for extra volunteers to join the team at the Grace Darling Museum in Bamburgh.

The Northumberland museum relies on volunteers to keep it running and the charity is hoping to recruit people who can spare half a day a week. Anyone interested in volunteering should ring 01668 214910.

Pupils' cookery awards

Teenagers studying how to cook like professionals have won awards in a regional cookery competition.

Two pupils at TyneMet College in North Tyneside received bronze and silver medals at the Major Series XII competition hosted by New College Durham.

Samantha Jones, 19, from Whitley Bay, won two bronze medals, and Charly Tasker, 18, from Northumberland, won one silver and one bronze.

They beat students from Hartlepool and Leeds Colleges, as well as students from New College Durham.

Charly was awarded silver for the street food category with an entry of noodles, duck, pak choi and mango, and a bronze medal for her game main course of quail.

Samantha won bronzes in the fish course for her pan-seared haddock and in the dessert for two categories.

More work needed on equality

A fundamental change in mindset is needed from the Government and business leaders to remove the last barriers to equality, according to a new report.

The Women’s Business Council said more women were in jobs than ever before, many running their own businesses, while there were thousands more female graduates in subjects such as maths and science. But the group, set up two years ago by the Government to boost equality, said male leaders could do more.

Ruby McGregor-Smith, who chairs the council, said: “More women than ever are in employment, the gender pay gap has closed to nearly zero for women under 40 working full time and there are more women sitting on boards than at any time.

“This is not the time to be complacent. We must address cultural attitudes in the workplace, often deeply ingrained, if we are to see true gender parity.”

Salvation Army launches appeal for donations

Seven Salvation Army charity shops in the North East have launched an appeal for people to donate unwanted goods.

The aim of the Open your hearts &amp; wardrobes drive is for these items to be sold on to raise money to help The Salvation Army continue its social and welfare services throughout the UK.

Its work includes providing overnight shelter for homeless people, supporting victims of trafficking, providing hot meals and companionship for lonely elderly people and offering rehabilitation support to those seeking to break free from alcohol or drug addiction.

“We’d like as many people as possible to participate in the campaign,” said Salvation Army Area Manager, Anthony Cummings.

“The average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothes, and about 30% of it hasn’t been worn in the last year. We want to encourage people to think about what’s lurking in the back of their wardrobe that they might be able to donate.”

The shops in North Shields; Byker, Newcastle; Whitley Bay; Ashington; Clayton Street, Newcastle; and Bondgate Within, Alnwick, will be unveiling new window and in-store posters, and handing out leaflets to customers explaining what a huge difference donations of their unwanted wardrobe items could make. The shops are also happy to accept donations of toys, homewares, books, CDs and DVDs.

“We hope that the Open your hearts &amp; wardrobes campaign will resonate with customers old and new,” added Mr Cummings.

Charity's lunch club event

A children's cancer charity is to hold a lunch club event with a special guest speaker.

Lady Blackett, owner of Matfen Hall Hotel in Northumberland, will host the fundraising lunch for Josie’s Dragonfly Trust in the site’s Library restaurant on Friday, June 20.

The trust, the hotel’s current chosen charity, was set up by inspirational teenager Josie Grove shortly before she lost her own battle with Leukaemia in 2007.

The charity brings happiness to hundreds of young cancer patients across the UK by distributing arts and crafts boxes to children’s cancer hospitals, granting Dragonfly Dreams and giving out cash gifts of £500 to children and young people with incurable cancer.

Lady Blackett will be sharing the history of her husband’s ancestral home over lunch prepared by chefs from the hotel’s renowned two AA rosettes restaurant.

As well as talking about changes to the hall and estate over the centuries, she will shed light on the lives of the generations of the Blackett family who have lived there.

Tickets for the lunch, which will take place between 11.30am and 3pm, cost £25 each and must be booked in advance by calling 01434 602043, emailing sarah@josiesdragonfly.org or visiting www.matfenhall.com

New council charge for electric vehicle top-ups

Drivers will be asked to pay when they charge their electric vehicles at council-owned charging points.

From Monday, June 23, a flat fee will be introduced across all of Durham County Council’s 31 charge points.

A fee of £1 per visit will apply to the 30 standard points and a £5 flat fee for the rapid charging point at the Belmont park and ride site.

Coun Neil Foster, cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “We hope that the nominal fee will make it easier for drivers to access the most popular points as well as helping the council to meet some of the cost of maintenance.”

College success

A North East college has been named the region’s best for long course student success rates.

Northumberland College came out on top in the North East in the national league tables published by the government’s Skills Funding Agency.

Its success rates are fourth best nationally and it is the only North East college to feature in the top 12 out of 221 general further education colleges in England for 16-18 year olds studying long courses, with a learner success rate of 91.1% and an achievement rate of 97.5%

The college ranks sixth best nationally and is the only North East college to feature in the top 16 for students of all ages studying long courses, with a learner success rate of 89.4% and an achievement rate of 97.2%.

Stuart Cutforth, principal and chief executive, said: “Northumberland College has much to be proud of and these latest success rates, which are based on the 12/13 academic year that ended on July 31 2013, are the result of continued staff commitment and the hard work of our students. We’re confident that we can maintain these success rates for the coming academic year.”

Brothers shave locks for charity

Charity head shaves can often be a spur of the moment decision – but not for young Birtley boys Rowan and Leighton Henderson.

The brothers had been growing their hair since 2012 in preparation to shave it all off again – in aid of Asthma UK and the Little Princess Trust – who accept hair donations and make them into wigs for children who have lost their own hair through cancer.

Both the boys have asthma, so Asthma UK is a charity close to their and their mother Kirsty’s hearts.

Their locks grew so long that they were frequently mistaken for girls in the street, but they most definitely look like boys now, after their long tresses were shaved to a grade two at Choices Hair Design in Birtley.

“The boys are getting used to it, but I still find it a bit strange!” said mum Kirsty.

“They started growing their hair as a bit of fun and a means to annoy the grandparents, but we thought why not do it for a good cause.”

The boys have smashed their £200 target, and have already raised more than £400.

Friends saddle up for charity

A group of friends got on their bikes to clock up nearly £1,500 for charity.

The six women cycled 157 miles from Edinburgh to Seaton Sluice, in Northumberland, in just three days.

Those taking part in the Coast and Castles trip were Alison Ward and Pat Higham, from Seaton Sluice, Diane Green, Pam Lloyd and her daughter Alex, from Whitley Bay, as well as Ann Morris, from Hebburn. They chose to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Other causes included Lukeslifelonglabour.com, which was set up to help a boy called Luke Collins, who was diagnosed with a tumour on his optic nerve when he was a baby and has been undergoing treatment at Newcastle General Hospital. The other charity benefiting from the ride was Josie’s Dragonfly Trust, which was set up by Josie Grove, from Corbridge, to help fellow teenage cancer patients.

Diane said: “With the exception of Alex, we are all aged in our 50s.

“It was hard-going riding more than 50 miles a day, often up and down hills and into a strong wind.”

How Vicky Walton became the Great North Run's 500,000th finisher

When she finished the Great North Run in 2001, Vicky Walton had no idea she had made history.

After all the training and then 13.1 miles of pounding the roads from Newcastle to South Shields, she was just glad to cross the finishing line.

But in that moment, the now mum-of-three became a landmark in the history of the world’s largest half marathon.

Vicky, 34, from Gosforth in Newcastle, said: “After I did the run someone came towards me and said: ‘You’re the half millionth person to ever finish – are you OK to be interviewed by Sue Barker?’.

“It was a complete and utter shock as it was my first time running the Great North Run and I didn’t even know the milestone was going to be in that race. But being the 500,000th finisher helped me on the way to the rest of my life.”

At this year’s event in September, another Great North Run milestone will be reached with the millionth finisher.

However it won’t be Vicky as she is not competing, but she is urging others to give it a go and see whether they too can become a part of history.

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